macOS 27 Will Mark the End of an Era

[MacRumors]

During its Platforms State of the Union segment at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that macOS 26 Tahoe is the final major macOS version for Intel-based Macs.

The upcoming macOS 27 release will be compatible with Apple silicon Macs only, meaning that you will need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip in order to install the software update. macOS 27 should be available in beta starting in June, and the update will likely be widely released in September.

macOS Tahoe is compatible with the following Macs:

• MacBook Neo (2026)
• MacBook Air with Apple silicon (2020 and later)
• MacBook Pro with Apple silicon (2020 and later)
• MacBook Pro (16‑inch, 2019)
• MacBook Pro (13‑inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
• iMac (2020 and later)
• Mac mini (2020 and later)
• Mac Studio (2022 and later)
• Mac Pro (2019 and later)

Intel-based Macs that can run macOS Tahoe but will not be compatible with macOS 27 include the 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019), the 27-inch iMac (2020), the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports), and the Mac Pro (2019).

macOS 27's exact compatibility with Apple silicon Macs remains to be seen, but presumably the update will support all Macs with an M1 chip or newer.

Article Link: macOS 27 Will Mark the End of an Era

 

[pigeonguy]

OS better be noticeably smaller and faster then.

 

[QuantumPulse]

I don't miss Intel.

 

[racerhomie]

Oh, this also marks the end of the Hackintosh community

 

[FreakinEurekan]

• Mac Pro (2019 and later)

Mac Pro (2019) is Intel 🧐
as is "iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)" which is also in the list

Never mind - I see that they're listing computers compatible with Tahoe... in an article about not-Tahoe 🤦🏻‍♂️

So the only Macs being dropped are:

• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
• MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
• Mac Pro (2019)

Kind of a "Yawn" - unless you happen to have one of those four models, I guess 😬

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

This year and next might be the years for the majority of the rest of the Mac user base to make the move from Intel to Apple Silicon. A shame it coincided with Apple messing up the macOS UI. And more than a few app icons for that matter.

 

[losthismarbles]

the end of the Hackintosh community

Which i never, ever, but ever "got".

Why..
You take all the time to set up a machine from scratch, or invertly, have a piss poor one that you don't want to get rid of?

The knowledge/patience it takes to get a HackIntosh running, why not go Linux?
People be People(tm) of course, no logical answer and sure, to each their own, but, yeah, never got it 🙂

 

[SpunkValve]

OS better be noticeably smaller and faster then.

why would it be any smaller or faster? its not a fat binary like in the PPC/68k days

 

[SupremeAntBee]

This year and next might be the years for the majority of the rest of the Mac user base to make the move from Intel to Apple Silicon. Shame it coincides with them time Apple messed up the macOS UI.

It is absolutely hideous, and still buggy as all get out!
BTW, I really like your avatar. I still have that beautiful iMac.😀

 

[Bigwaff]

The upcoming macOS 27 release will be compatible with Apple silicon Macs only, meaning that you will need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip in order to install the software update…..

What a nothing-burger post. Why? Clicks?

 

[Mr. Heckles]

This year and next might be the years for the majority of the rest of the Mac user base to make the move from Intel to Apple Silicon. A shame it coincided with Apple messing up the macOS UI. And more than a few app icons for that matter.

I like the new UI, so not sure how Apple is “messing” it up.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

It is absolutely hideous, and still buggy as all get out!
BTW, I really like your avatar. I still have that beautiful iMac.😀

Technically my avatar is a "borrowed" image I put macOS imagery and front facing ports on as a nod to a hypothetical iMac Studio. For such a device to appear Apple would need a more radical and visionary CEO me thinks.

 

[racerhomie]

Which i never, ever, but ever "got".

Why..
You take all the time to set up a machine from scratch, or invertly, have a piss poor one that you don't want to get rid of?

The knowledge/patience it takes to get a HackIntosh running, why not go Linux?
People be People(tm) of course, no logical answer and sure, to each their own, but, yeah, never got it 🙂

I think it was more of the affordable upgradability access that got people interested, without buying a Mac Pro. But even that is gone

 

[ghanwani]

Apple Silicon brought with it dithering making macs unusable for me.

 

[losthismarbles]

I think it was more of the affordable upgradability access that got people interested, without buying a Mac Pro. But even that is gone

Misinformed if so, one could have had an even "leaner" Linux machine with exact said same (old/er) components; it being why i said i never "got" the HackIntosh thing.
Typical "lot of trouble for nothing" PC "enthusiast" stuff.. bother for the sake of bothering.

Again, just me.

 

[PowerMac5500]

OS better be noticeably smaller and faster then.

Agreed. But more likely any saved space from reducing the OS size will get eaten up by the requirements for new Apple Intelligence "features"... 😆

 

[What_Is_George]

Mac Pro (2019 and later)

If it removes support for Intel Macs, how is the 2019 Mac Pro still supported?

 

[uller6]

I don't miss Intel.

I’ll miss intel only for the Linux compatibility keeping old machines alive well past their OSX support lifespans

 

[erikkfi]

Unforgivably, they're also set to drop Rosetta 2 for no good reason.

 

[turbineseaplane]

It's a crime to leave Intel Macs with Tahoe as their final version.

🤮

 

[ignatius345]

Oh, this also marks the end of the Hackintosh community

This was always on borrowed time IMO. Apple has been steadily locking down their hardware for years now. It is what it is.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Unforgivably, they're also set to drop Rosetta 2 for no good reason.

Wonder what apps will be lost to this deprecation.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

It's a crime to leave Intel Macs with Tahoe as their final version.

🤮

LOL think about that. It's like an April fools.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Misinformed if so, one could have had an even "leaner" Linux machine with exact said same (old/er) components; it being why i said i never "got" the HackIntosh thing.
Typical "lot of trouble for nothing" PC "enthusiast" stuff.. bother for the sake of bothering.

Again, just me.

I set up a Hackintosh about 10 years ago. It was not hard to do if you bought components that worked (much gratitude for all the people who tried different combinations!). It was much cheaper than an iMac at the time (ignoring the great screen) and ran OS X, which was (and is, in my opinion) better than all Linux distros. Okay, I haven't tested them all, but I started running and trying out different flavors of Linux in the 1990s and still use Linux nearly every day. Most are fine to good, but all lack the polish and features of OS X / macOS.

I eventually turned that Hackintosh into a Windows / Linux dual boot system and then just a Windows + WSL system (which is pretty great), but the Hackintosh was good while I ran it. Much of it was simply a learning experience.

 

[mdcmdcmdc]

Historical note, as the last macOS to run on Intel CPUs, macOS 26 Tahoe joins Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (last to run on PowerPC) and Mac OS 8.1 (last to run on 68000).